The Cleveland Guardians failure to develop a power hitter was their downfall

The Cleveland Guardians’ failure to develop a power hitter ultimately sunk them.

It was a good season for the Cleveland Guardians. The pitching staff continues to be among the best in baseball, the team arguably has the best bullpen in the game, and they have consistent Cy Young and MVP candidates in Shane Bieber and Jose Ramirez while featuring two of the best young players in the game in Steven Kwan and Oscar Gonzalez. Not to mention the gobs of other young plays who have started to emerge.

The team finished 2022 as the AL Central Division Champions eliminated a tough Tampa Bay Rays team, and took an even tougher New York Yankees team all five games. This is a squad that can hang with the top guys in the league.

Yet, one major concern that lingered all season came back to bite them especially hard in the Yankees series. The team lacks a major home run presence and seeing the Guardians have more hits in the deciding Game 5 against the Yankees, but the Yankees had more runs, should remind us all that a good power hitter can really take the pressure off a team that lives and dies on hot innings.

The failures to develop Bobby Bradley and Franmil Reyes were a big reason the Guardians fell when they did.

The Cleveland Guardians did not develop a reliable power hitter all year

I don’t speak ill of the Guardians often. They’re the best ran team of the three in Cleveland and have the least financial support from the city. A revised revenue-sharing program, a salary cap, and a salary floor would really help the Guardians stay competitive but until baseball realizes that catering to the eight big teams only is hurting the sport, we’re stuck doing it the Guardians way.

The Guardians’ way has netted the city some really good players, and the knowledge of knowing when to buy and sell with trades has made this team one good trade away every year from restocking for the next season. The Cleveland Guardians trading Francisco Lindor, Corey Kluber, and Mike Clevinger are exactly why the team had the epic run it had in 2022 and became champions.

That said, the team didn’t develop Bobby Bradley and Franmil Reyes, and it was obvious both guys were going to be big pieces of the team in 2022 before Bradley went weeks without a hit and Reyes completely fell apart in front of our eyes.

Now, a player can only get so good. Coaches only have so much influence over natural talent. Bradley and Reyes just aren’t good. Reyes went to the Chicago Cubs and had those few good games, which saw everyone trying to dunk on Cleveland for letting him go. Yet, in typical Reyes fashion, he fell apart again.

He did set a new career record, however, for most strikeouts. So there’s that.

So for 2023, the Guardians have got to address that problem. I don’t care if they have to go get a pinch-hitter who can only hit home runs and finishes the year with 40 home runs and 42 hits. They need someone with that Mark Reynolds and Russell Branyan strength. That guy who can lift up a tree trunk and hit a ball through the outfield wall.

They can’t afford to go into 2022 without at least one if not two players who play just like that. Yes, this team is built on putting the ball in play but they could at least put two power hitters on the bench for series like the Yankees.

The team could only do so much with Reyes and Bradley, and moving on was the right call. Yet, here we are again watching bad power hitters come in with all the hype and flame out. Matt LaPorta, Bradley Zimmer, Michael Aubrey, and so many others just to name a few came into Cleveland with all the hype in the world and just fell apart.

If the Guards are going to move on past the second round next year, they need someone to step up.